Tasty Thanksgiving Treats

Thanksgiving is a time about reflecting on those meaningful things in life—and sometimes the most important things to give thanks to are the fall cocktails that come in appreciation of the holiday. Festive flavors, such as pumpkin and cranberry can spark nostalgic thoughts on patrons’ palates. This is a perfect time to initiate the holiday season by creating one-of-a-kind cocktails that will stay with your patrons for years to come.

*An option is to macerate the cranberries in dark rum the night before. In doing this you can muddle the cranberries into the bottom of the glass. Also, cranberries steeped in dark rum make for a great side garnish and most appropriate for the holidays.

*In a wide-mouthed glass infusion jar place 1 liter of Wild Turkey 101 and 2 barspoons of cardamom seeds. Close and leave in a dark cool place for 1 day. Strain out cardamom and add 1 ½ cups dried unsweetened cranberries and three sticks of cinnamon. Close and leave for another two days, agitating once per day. Strain solids and store in the original Wild Turkey bottle with proper labeling (commercially, store in an unlabeled bottle)

In a mixing glass, add all ingredients, fill with ice and shake well for 10 seconds. Hawthorne strain into a wine glass and garnish with a long lemon twist.

Sprinkle ground cinnamon over crushed graham crackers. Rim the glass with vodka, then dip glass in graham cracker crumbs. In a shaker filled with ice combine the vodka, pumpkin liqueur and creme de cacao. Shake well. Strain into glass and garnish with cinnamon stick and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.

Pour all ingredients in a shaker, except cider. Shake quickly and strain into a Collins glass. Top with cider, garnish with raspberries and dust with nutmeg.

*In a medium saucepan combine four cups sugar and one quart water. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. In another saucepan, muddle a small container of raspberries (about 6 ounces) and combine the syrup and raspberries. Let rest for a day, then strain. It keeps for about a month.

Shake the Van Gogh Dutch Caramel Vodka and ginger and put it in a Martini glass rimmed with chocolate covered pretzels. (To rim the glass, use simple syrup on the edge. Take a handful of chocolate-covered pretzels and put them in a plastic baggie, smash it with a hammer, then dipped the glass in it.)